What Iceland's decision not to pursue EU membership tells us

Did you know with a Digital subscription to Yorkshire Post, you can get access to all of our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. There will doubtlessly be lessons to learn from the decision taken by Icelandic voters not to pursue membership of the EU. However, it seems not much will change for the citizens of Europe's most northerly sovereign state. Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area as are Norway and a few other smaller states. However, like Norway it's outside the Customs Union but inside the Single Market. Icelanders enjoy the life enhancing benefits of freedom of movement so callously and casually stripped away from UK citizens after the 2016 referendum. Hence young people from Iceland can freely establish themselves in Italy and vice versa allowing them to work while learning the language and experiencing the culture without almost no bureaucracy other than that which Italian citizens themselves face. As an example, an Icelandic band touring throughout Europe doesn't have paperwork to complete whereas for smaller UK bands without the skills to negotiate the red tape such touring is at best difficult. The regulations we face would likely have made The Beatles visit to Hamburg impossible. Icelanders appear to have decided that they like what they have. The UK took a leap in the dark and ended up with a version of Brexit that wasn't specifically endorsed. The economics matter but for many it's the people-to-people opportunities that the EU creates that are most important and most missed. Some of the nonsense has been reversed. The UK is for example rejoining Erasmus. Now it's time to go further and as a first step on the long road home to welcome citizens from other European countries to live and work here on a reciprocal basis. Everyone 35 and under without limits but initially with no right to claim benefits at all and certainly not for dependents. This is the challenge facing progressive parties. As Iceland shows, social integration in Europe is possible without political integration. I've frequently finished letters by asking for justification as to why my Yorkshire grandchildren can't have the same opportunities as their Australian cousin with an Irish passport. It's pointless asking because no one ever answers. There is no justification. It's unfair.